Prolusion
by The PalletShipping Ninja
Summary: When Steven accidentally sees something he shouldn't have in the bubble room, Pearl tells Steven an unusual bedtime story: the story of the young gems her and Rose Quartz brought into the world hundreds of years ago. Rose/Pearl, Ruby/Sapphire.
1. Prologue: The Bubbles

_A/N: I don't post on fanfiction much anymore (I'm an ao3 gal now) but I figured it might be nice to put this up here in case any of you non-ao3-goers were interested in some rosepearl gem egg hell. This fic isn't oviposition, the geodes/eggs are carried in the gem, so if that squicks you out this is your lucky day. This is gonna be a bumpy road, I just hope some of you will join me for the ride._

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Prolusion  
Prologue – The Bubbles

.

Steven couldn't stop thinking about the rose quartz bubbles he'd seen.

It had been another typical day of hanging out in Amethyst's room, lying around and occasionally leaping off of piles of junk into the variety of shallow pools below. After climbing out of the fifth pool he had dived into, Steven spotted a smaller puddle and decided to investigate. It took him less than a moment after sticking his head through to realise he was in the room storing bubbled gems, and he vowed he was willingly going to leave immediately, when a rose quartz bubble caught his eye. Inside was a small gem, glimmering where the faint glow from the crystal heart lit it. Squinting, he studied the gem inside for a few moments before his eyes widened in disbelief.

Without a doubt, it was a pink quartz gem. Could it be a rose quartz? He couldn't tell for sure, but it sure looked like the gem nestled in his navel. Beside it was another rose bubble, with another gem that was more pearl-shaped, although it held the same colour as the gem in the first bubble. A little further back, what looked to be a gem nearly identical to Pearl's sat quaintly in a bubble, a comfortable distance away from the other two.

A strong hand yanked him out of the puddle by the back of his shirt.

"Steven, I've told you before not to look in there," Amethyst scolded. "We're not allowed in there, you understand?"

Steven nodded. "Sorry, Amethyst." As she headed back over to her junk pile, a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Amethyst? Are there other gems, like us?"

She snorted. "Uh, yeah? Didn't Peridot already give you the memo? There are tons of other gems out there."

"No, no, I mean like... other amethysts, other pearls, other... rose quartz gems."

Her eyes narrowed. "...Why are you asking this, Steven?" she asked, voice laced with suspicion.

"Well," he began nervously, "there was, uh, when I put my head through, th-there was a bubble in front of me, and the gem inside looked like mine."

"That's – that's nothing to worry about!" Amethyst stretched out her arms, face overly agitated. "Come on, Steven, lets – lets go out. Get fries!"

Protesting, Steven reluctantly allowed Amethyst to steer him out of the temple, sparing a glance back at the puddle as he was pushed away. The house was empty, void of any scathing looks from Pearl or silent berating from Garnet over needless transformations, so with a swish of her hair Amethyst shapeshifted into a lion, picking Steven up by the back of his shirt in her large feline jaws and tossing him onto her back.

"You're going to make Lion jealous," Steven giggled, patting her silver mane. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the board walk! Fries, pizza, doughnuts, whatever you want, buddy! Lets do it!"

In the back of his mind Steven could tell that Amethyst was trying to create a distraction so he'd stop asking questions, but that only made him curiouser. Making a note to himself to ask one of the others about the gems later, Steven humoured Amethyst and allowed her to have her fun, ordering her to charge down the beach and into the swarm of seagulls below, whooping and cheering as they scattered while Amethyst let out a roar.

Yes, he'd keep her happy for now, until he could get answers elsewhere.

…

"So _are_ there other gems like us, Amethyst?"

"Ugh, you're still on about that?" Amethyst groaned. The two had gone for doughnuts, fries and half a pizza each (Amethyst had eaten what Steven couldn't finish) and Amethyst had assumed that would be enough to subdue him, but now that they were back in the house he'd remembered there were still burning questions he wanted to ask.

"Oh come on, tell me?" Steven pleaded, pouting. "Come on, Amethyst. I saw two gems in there, and one looked like my gem, and one looked like Pearl's. I already know the answer. I just want to know why you don't want me knowing!"

"You don't know anything about it, Steven," Amethyst snapped. She sighed. "Ugh. Listen, bud, I don't want to get in trouble with Pearl and Garnet over this, so can we just pretend like you never saw anything? I should have been watching you better, I should have known you'd stick your head in that puddle again."

"Why would you get in trouble with Pearl and Garnet? Don't they know those gems are in there?" Steven asked, wide-eyed. Amethyst exhaled loudly.

"It's not my biz to tell you, Steven. I mean, it's not like those gems are mi-"

Catching herself in time, she shut her mouth, folding her arms. Steven leaned closer.

"What were you going to say?"

"Nothing!" She pursed her lips. "It's Pearl's business, and if I told you anything she'd kick my ass."

"I-I don't think Pearl would do... that," Steven ventured, a little embarrassed.

"I wouldn't do what?"

Startled, Steven turned around. Pearl was standing in the doorway, bags of groceries in her hands.

"Nothing!" Amethyst slung an arm around Steven, pulling him close to her. "Just me and Steven messing around, the usual."

"Okay...?" Frowning, Pearl shrugged, heading over to the cupboards and beginning to unpack the bags. Amethyst gave Steven a warning look, which he chose to ignore.

"Hey, Pearl? Are there other gems like us?"

Amethyst clapped a hand over Steven's mouth as Pearl turned to glance over at him quizzically. "Well, it's possible, I suppose," she said absent-mindedly, continuing to unload the bags. "Earth certainly isn't the only planet once controlled by gems so it's possible there were other rebellions and thus other survivors, like us."

"That's not what I mean," Steven responded, wriggling out of Amethyst's grip. "I mean, are there other amethysts? Other pearls? Other rose quartz gems?"

She froze.

"Steven, come on," urged Amethyst, tugging his arm. "Lets go back to my room, we can – we can do more junk pile diving or something-"

"Why are you asking about this, Steven?" Pearl asked quietly, leaning against the counter tiredly. "Amethyst, let go of him. I want to hear what he has to say."

"Am I in trouble?" Steven asked, glancing between Amethyst and Pearl anxiously. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked-"

"You're not in trouble," Pearl responded calmly, watching him with an unreadable expression. "Why are you asking about this?"

"I... I looked into the bubble room by accident again," he admitted, lowering his head in shame. "I'm really sorry. I saw these bubbles. One looked like my gem. And... there was another one there, it looked like yours. I was wondering if they were the same as us, or if I just made a mistake."

Amethyst stared at Pearl. Pearl stared at Steven.

Silence fell over them.

"I..." Pearl glanced over at Amethyst, who held her hands up in defence.

"I told him not to ask, P! I swear I told him not to! Steven, come on, please just drop it," she pleaded.

"You saw them?" Pearl clasped her hands together, trying to hide the way they were shaking. "Oh... I never wanted you to see them... Oh, goodness..."

Amethyst crept over to her, reaching for her hand. "Come on, P, lets go back to your room. Steven, go watch TV or something," she said sternly, casting him a warning look. Steven approached Pearl slowly, feeling small.

He reached out to her. "Pearl?"

"I'm sorry, Steven." She pulled away from him, brow furrowed. "I have to think. I'll be a while."

Amethyst led her away, motioning for Steven to go to his room. She gave him a small smile as reassurance, before the temple door shut behind them. Pearl never looked back.

Steven was alone.

…

The next time he listened in, Garnet was present in the conversation. It was late, and he should really have been sleeping, but he could hear them from inside the temple, raised voices and all.

"You should have been keeping watch over him, Amethyst!" Garnet's tone was firm, scolding.

"I told him not to bring it up! He just kept bugging me about it!" Amethyst defended, and Steven could almost hear her hand gestures. "I'm sorry, P. I didn't think they'd be so close to the puddle... they must have shifted the last time we bubbled some gems."

"I didn't want him to know." Pearl's voice sounded small, defeated, and Steven had to strain to hear it. "I hoped he wouldn't ever find out. If he finds out about any of that..."

"Uh, I think he already knows on some level, Pearl," Amethyst pointed out, laughing uneasily. "I mean, you _do_ always gush about Rose at every opportunity you get. And he's a sweet kid. It won't bother him."

"How do you know that?" she cried. "If Steven found out about what happened-"

"He would love you anyway," Garnet's voice reassured, her voice firm. "You aren't at fault for what happened. I don't think Rose would have wanted you to feel so pressured to keep quiet about it."

When Pearl next spoke, her voice was wavering. "I have no idea what Rose would have wanted."

"Oh, geez," came Amethyst's voice, though her tone was gentler than usual. "Don't cry, P. Steven's a good kid. He wouldn't... think any less of you."

"In the end, it's your decision whether or not to tell him and we'll respect your wishes. But if you're holding back because you're afraid of Steven's judgement, remember this is Steven we're talking about here." Garnet's voice was laced with warmth. "He'll understand."

"I don't want him to think that I betrayed him," Pearl murmured. "By not telling him about the gems, I mean."

"You have your reasons."

The door to the temple opened and Steven hid under the covers. Moments later the door closed again, but soft footsteps told him Pearl was coming up.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he allowed for his breathing to slow, taking even breaths to mimic the sound of sleep. A gentle presence dented the mattress, and he could feel Pearl sitting beside him, watching him. She stared at him for a while, sometimes resting a hand on his hair for a few moments before pulling away again. This cycle continued a few times, before Steven decided the easiest way to help her talk was to use force. He stirred, taking a few moments to tune into the feeling of her body tensing before slowly opening his eyes.

"Pearl?" he muttered, pushing himself upright. She stood up quickly.

"Ah – sorry, Steven, sorry, I – I know you don't like me watching you anymore," she began, wringing her hands. "I'll go."

"No." He reached out and grabbed her arm. "I... I'm sorry for asking you about those bubbled gems, Pearl. Are you still mad?"

She glanced around nervously, before cautiously sitting down again. "Steven. I was never mad, I... was just in shock, that's all." Pearl's appearance was unusually unkempt, her hair a mess as though she had been running her fingers through it, her body jittery. "I didn't ever want you to see those. I don't know why I thought I could keep it from you, it's just I haven't thought about them for so long. Not since you were baby."

"Are they special to you? Did me asking make you unhappy?" Steven squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, smiling faintly.

"They are special to me. They're from a long time ago. They were special to all of us, but especially so to me and... and your mother." She looked away, staring down at the warp pad. "I didn't want you to know. I don't want you to think less of me, or your mother, for what we did all those years ago."

Steven's mind whirred, remembering the state Pearl had gotten into when she found out his mother had kept secrets from her. He didn't fully understand it, but their close relationship was obvious, and part of him was burning to find out the full story behind it.

"I won't think less of you, I promise," he urged, scooting closer. "Please talk to me, Pearl."

She took a deep breath to calm herself, before turning to him. Her face was flooding a pale blue, and her lips trembled.

"W-Well... I don't think we've ever talked to you about, um... g-gem reproduction, have we, Steven?"

His jaw dropped.

"Gems can do that too?! Why did they build Kindergarten then?"

"It's... not a very orthodox method of creating gems," she explained, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Gems aren't generally... affectionate. It's rare for gems to be so intimate that it can take place. Not to mention fertility rate in gems is extremely low. That's the reason Kindergartens were built. Survival rates were higher and since the reproduction was asexual the donor gems weren't seen as inferior because of it."

"I guess that makes sense," Steven agreed, absorbing the information. "But what does this have to do with you and my mom?"

She hesitated, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"A long time ago, Rose and I... reproduced."


	2. Chapter 1: Morganite

_A/N: I wrote this chapter originally before We Need To Talk was aired, and at the time I never expected we would see a rosepearl fusion, so Morganite is based off of the design here because I love it so much: post/115733788429/rose-quartz-and-pearl-fusion-prompt-morganite_

 _Thank you for the reviews! This fic is still ongoing on ao3, and the number of chapters are undetermined right now because I'm still working out some kinks for later on in the fic. It will be at least 7 chapters though, I know that for sure._

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Prolusion  
Chapter 1 – Morganite

"A long time ago, Rose and I... reproduced."

Steven stared at Pearl, mouth hanging open. She watched him in silence, wringing her hands nervously, waiting for the impending reaction.

Several moments passed.

"Um... Steven?" she ventured as he continued to stare in utter amazement. His eyes were like saucers.

"Y-You and my mom...?"

"Er, yes."

"You reproduced?" His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, his expression growing uncomfortable. "Like... the way _humans_ do?"

Oh, dear. Pearl's cheeks flamed.

"Wh-What?! Of _course_ not, Steven, gem reproduction is nothing like-!" She collected herself and took a deep breath. "No, Steven. Gem reproduction doesn't work that way. It involves, um... two or more gems coming into intimate contact."

An illusion formed in her gem and projected outwards, showing two faceless gems bowing before spinning towards each other, as though readying to fuse. As they met in the middle the gems, both located on the chests to make for a more simple explanation, began to glow.

"Sometimes, although not always, a geode is formed." From the two gems meeting, a small globe representing a geode sprouted between them. "That's how it happens. It's a complex process, all down to compatibility of gems and how strong the emotions are. So no, it is nothing like human reproduction."

"Oh." Steven looked a little relieved, and Pearl exhaled, thanking the stars that Steven was willing to accept the answer without any further questions on the matter of sexual relations. "So you and Mom made... _geodes_...?"

"That's right."

He stared down at his hands, absorbing this information. When he glanced up again, his eyes were brimming with curiosity.

"So how did it happen?" he asked. "How did you and Mom... make geodes? How did that happen?"

…

It was time to head out again.

The mission was simple – the Locket of Wrath was allegedly located on a small, inconspicuous island in the north pacific ocean, one of Blue Diamond's secondary bases designed to blend in with the surrounding environment. Garnet had predicted it causing trouble for the surrounding seas if they didn't retrieve it soon, and the last thing they wanted was for the sailors to further provoke an already malevolent gem artefact. It had already caused two shipwrecks, but it wasn't until now that they'd been able to define the location of the offender. Fortunately after the rebellion a warp pad had been built, so it wasn't a stretch to reach the location of the artefact.

"I'm just amazed we didn't see it the last time we cleaned out the island," Rose Quartz commented as they gathered on the warp pad. "I know it was over a thousand years ago, but I didn't expect it to be dormant for so long. Maybe there was a timing charm on it?"

"It's possible that it wasn't there originally," Garnet pointed out, stoic as ever. "It could have travelled a distance, carried by the ocean."

"Whatever the reason," Pearl said impatiently, "lets go there now and retrieve it before it causes even more trouble. The last thing we need is more humans getting themselves hurt as a result."

"Fine," groaned Amethyst, emerging from her room at last. "But ships get wrecked all the time. Destroying the locket won't change that."

"Maybe not, but it will lessen the number of deaths caused in that ocean," Garnet deadpanned. "And that's what matters."

On that note of finality they warped, landing on a quaint island crawling with crystals that the natives had taken to calling Mask Island. The white sand, clear waters and impressive crystals made for a picturesque sight to behold, but the lack of disturbance was a little unnerving.

Pearl turned to Garnet. "You said it was active again?"

"I predicted it would be causing trouble _soon_. It's uncertain whether or not the locket has already activated."

"Well, there's no use standing around and talking about it," Rose voiced, blowing her fringe out of her eyes. "Garnet, Amethyst, you survey the waters. Pearl and I will track the island."

"Got it!"

Amethyst shapeshifted easily into a shark, burying herself deep in the waves, and Garnet followed suit, nodding at Rose slightly before disappearing under the water. Rose turned to Pearl, hands planted on her hips.

"Let's go."

"Of course."

The objective was simple – find the locket, bubble it, leave. How hard would it be to track down a locket, anyway?

Apparently, very hard. Rose was on her knees, sifting through dirt and ferns warily while Pearl checked the shores of the island, turning over rocks and driftwood.

"Found anything yet?" Rose called.

"Nothing," Pearl replied, deflated. The locket could be anywhere. Garnet had pinpointed the location to a small perimeter surrounding the island, so it should have been found by now.

"Maybe Garnet and Amethyst have it already," Rose offered cheerfully, continuing to search anyway. Pearl nodded, making no effort to reply. The sun was shining but her mood couldn't be more sour.

As she peered around the side of a large red rock face, Pearl scanned the area, pausing as Rose made a triumphant sound.

"Aha! _There_ it – wait a minute-"

She froze as a deep roar ripped through the trees. Pearl craned her neck in the direction of the sound, and saw a flash of pink light from behind the trees, met with the sound of a blunt object hitting an impenetrable force.

"Augh – Pearl! The locket, it-it held a corrupted gem!"

Dropping the search, Pearl raced down the beach, pulling a spear from her gem as she ran. Rose's shield was out, holding out against a large, enraged creature, scaly yet feathered, a sort of corrosive plasm dripping from its beak. A broken chain lay abandoned at her feet. As Rose turned to Pearl in relief, she missed the drop of plasm that was beginning to corrode her shield, a small but definite hole now present.

"Rose, your shield!" Pearl cried, before leaping up to plunge her spear into its chest. The creature appeared mildly unaffected, although the stab bought Rose enough time to abandon her current shield and summon a new one. The two exchanged looks as the creature extended its neck, reaching for Pearl's spear and snapping it in its beak.

"My spear," Pearl grumbled, reaching into her gem to pull out a new one. As she did so, the creature flicked its tail, sending her sailing through the air, only to smack against a tree. Rose quickly summoned her sword, leaping high into the air and plummeting downwards, sword raised. It howled in pain as Rose took out its eyes, shaking the corrosive substance from her sword before it had time to set. Pearl climbed onto the branch she had slammed into, reaching for another spear and throwing it in the general direction. Neither of them had encountered a creature of this formation before, so it made sense to experiment to see what attacks affected the stability of the corrupted gem.

"My sword does seem to do the trick," Rose commented as Pearl jumped down to land gracefully beside her, "but I don't know about how long it will take us to subdue it." She paused. "Maybe... maybe Morganite would be able to take care of things."

Pearl's jaw dropped. "Morganite?! But Rose... this is a serious mission, a-and I don't know if I'll be able to hold together long enough-"

"Pearl." Rose's voice was firm. "I trust you. I know fusion isn't one of your strengths but Morganite might be able to accomplish what we can't do separately."

"I suppose her weapon _would_ be useful in order to take it out quickly," Pearl said uncertainly. The creature snapped Pearl's second spear into pieces, crunching it in its beak. She reached for another one effortlessly, throwing it and successfully lodging it in the throat of the beast. It whined in dismay and desperately attempted to dislodge the spear, but its failed attempts bought them enough time to stand apart, allowing their gems to glow as they prepared the fusion dance.

"Are you sure of this, Rose?" Pearl asked, twirling gracefully towards her dance partner. Rose glided closer, taking her hand.

"I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise, Pearl," she said warmly, spinning her. They took a few graceful steps, ignoring the furious screeches of their opposer, before Rose dipped Pearl, their gems illuminated. As they touched, Pearl's gem flooded with warmth, surprising her. Had fusion always felt this way? Maybe she was just imagining it. After all, it wasn't often that she fused with Rose, so perhaps her excitement was making her feel things that weren't there.

In a brilliant flash, their bodies fused, the two of them becoming one, their new form growing taller, leaner. A thin lace spilled from her shoulders, flowing down her body and rolling at her feet like waves. Her hair coiled down in a ponytail held high on her head, while her four arms stretched out, her fingers poised ready to summon her weapon. Both gems glinted as she opened her eyes, shaking a hand cautiously.

"I feel good," she exclaimed, her voice an octave between Rose and Pearl's, warm and bubbly. "This is... good!"

Oh dear, why had Morganite inherited her habit of talking her own ear off? Pearl cringed from somewhere inside, although if Rose was bothered by it she didn't say anything.

"Okay then!" she announced, a spring in her step as she surveyed the corrupted gem before her, thrashing around and crunching Pearl's spear in victory, finally having dislodged it from its throat. "I should, er, I should take care of this!"

Pearl always felt safer when she was Morganite. Fusion was more than simply joining, it was mixing, attributes flowing into one another, combining, melding into one mind, one form. Morganite was skittish but brave, evening out Rose's natural confidence and Pearl's unshakable insecurities. She was daring where Pearl was hesitant, but meek where Rose was certain. There was part of Pearl that regretted hindering Rose in this way when they were fused, but possessing Rose's strong sense of self was comforting, even if only for a little while. It was strange, but when they were fused, Morganite felt that she could do anything.

Rose always felt like she was falling when she was Morganite. Fusion enabled every secret to be exposed, every trait to mix or clash. Every fibre of her being was Pearl's, as every inch of Pearl was now hers too. When she was Morganite, she felt Pearl's anxieties hitting her at full speed, her mind ticking where it was normally calm, the worst-case scenario startling her before she had time to even process a plan. Rose wasn't used to feeling so lost, so unsure of herself, so when she was Morganite it felt hard to hang onto herself, the fear of being lost in Morganite forever keeping her from slipping away. Normally she was good at fusing, but Pearl struggled with it, and that usually led to Morganite being unstable, something to be feared. Pearl knew how Rose felt, of course, it was impossible to hide things during the process of fusion, but for once both found that they weren't afraid of the consequences of becoming Morganite anymore. For the first time, she felt stable. Whole. Like she could do anything.

"Sure about this?" she wondered aloud, fingers flexing in anticipation. "I don't have the best aim." A hand reached for her stomach, extracting a pink blade which glinted in her grip. "I'm sure. I feel great. I can do this!" Another hand reached for her forehead, pulling out a pale spear. "But this is so risky..."

Two hands met, two weapons touched, and in a flash of light they were gone, replaced by a pale pink lance with thorns engraved down the shaft, the vamplate shaped like a budding rose. Morganite always found herself drawn to her weapon, always found her gaze wandering to it in the midst of attacks, a small, pearl-shaped part of her yearning for them to stay together forever, so the lance would always be there to hold in her hands. It fit so perfectly she could hardly stand it, sometimes. Every time it broke apart inside an enemy she found herself mourning its loss.

"Focus!" The word, so often used by Pearl, sounded of Rose when spilling from Morganite's lips. "We get one chance at this, but if we do it right it'll be perfect."

Morganite took a few steps back as the corrupted gem spread its wings, screeching. It was a signal of war, and Morganite was ready for it.

Her legs were strong, and she charged with her lance poised, ready to strike. There was a gruesome cry as she thrust the lance forward, striking the beast through the middle. It howled as the lance began to break apart inside it, and with a blinding flash the creature vanished, a deep red stone in its place.

"Fascinating," Morganite marvelled, dusting herself off before reaching down to bubble the gem. "I wonder where its gem was hidden on its body? I didn't spot it during the fight."

She hugged herself, legs rubbing together, Pearl peeking out for just a moment. "I've never held on for so long before. Maybe-"

 _-we fit better together than we thought._

She couldn't say that. Rose already knew what she was about to say though – they were fused, how could she not? - and a warm bubble of laughter escaped her throat. Morganite was laughing now, holding onto her stomach with one pair of arms, hiding her face with the other two. It was so intimate. Whose hands were touching which gem? Neither of them knew. They were one. She was herself.

"Maybe so." There were unspoken feelings, fleeting bursts of warmth, affection, fondness, that neither could voice aloud. So Morganite took a step forward, skipping a little, landed on the beach and stretched. She dared a glance at her form, and it was magnificent.

"Should I call it a day?" she asked. The answer seemed obvious, but there was hesitance. Finally, she nodded. "I think so. Maybe... another time."

She hugged her torso, soft laughter in her throat.

"Of course."

When they unfused, Rose spun round to grin at Pearl, smile radiant.

"We held together so well, Pearl! Can you believe that?"

Pearl took a step back, swaying slightly. Her vision had doubled, and she blinked furiously to try and steady herself. It was rare for her to feel so weak – maybe she was just overwhelmed from staying fused for so long, since she didn't have the best track record for holding together stable fusions. Rose peered at her in concern.

"Pearl, are you all right?"

"Y-Yes, of course," she stammered, taking a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, her vision was clear, and she reached for Rose's hand. "That was marvellous. We really did make a stable fusion, didn't we?"

"We sure did." Rose leaned down and planted a kiss on Pearl's gem, which was still feeling tingly. She pulled back quickly. "Wow, your gem is warm. Are you okay? Maybe Morganite overworked us a bit too much."

"I'm fine," Pearl insisted, blushing at the kiss. "At least we solved the problem of the amulet." She stared down at the broken chain. "Do you think a human removed the gem from the chain?"

"It's possible," Rose agreed, picking it up and taking it into her gem. "I'll analyse it when we return to the temple, try and figure out exactly what happened. Lets just be thankful that nobody was injured."

The two headed back to the warp pad, hands loosely entwined.

"Did you find it?" Amethyst asked, switching back to her signature form before running out of the water and tackling Rose in a hug, nearly knocking both her and Pearl over in the process. Rose began to laugh, holding her soaking wet body at arm's length.

"That's right. We took care of it, though. It was a corrupted gem. We're still trying to figure out how it broke free of the seal – whether it was a human's doing or otherwise."

"We can examine it back at the temple," Garnet stated, approaching the group. "But for now, lets go back to the temple. Maybe you can try to heal it."

Rose's shoulders sagged a little at that. "You know my efforts have been fruitless so far, Garnet."

Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder. "So far doesn't mean forever. We'll work things out together."

As Amethyst tapped her face with her hand good-naturedly and Pearl squeezed her arm, Rose's face broke out into a smile.

"Sounds like a plan."

…

"...Do gems always make geodes by fusing?" Steven asked. Pearl shook her head.

"Not always, Steven. That's usually the case, but sometimes it can happen through other means. And it's a rare occurrence, even if it happens most commonly through fusion. It's not something you'll have to think about, I promise."

Steven paused. "...So, since you fused and that made the geodes, did both of you have them, or just one of you?"

"It was, um, just me." Pearl glanced around, as though expecting one of the others to be listening in. She conjured an illusion from her gem once more, displaying the same faceless gems as before, standing side by side with their hands entwined. "You see, often, the gems play different roles. There is usually a donor gem-" The figure with a small green gem raised a hand, "and there is a carrier gem." The other figure, with a blue gem to differentiate the two, raised its free hand. "The donor gem will simply – how to put this – they'll... transfer the necessary data and energy to produce the geodes, while the carrier gem will manifest the geodes in the inner sanctum of their gem until the time comes for them to be extracted."

"I see." Steven frowned, absorbing the information. "Does this mean Mom was like... the dad?"

"Gems don't use terms like mother and father when referring to geode formation," Pearl said hastily, quick to steer Steven away from introducing gender roles into her and Rose's relationship. "So no, absolutely not. Although in human terms, I suppose the donor gem _would_ typically play a similar role to that of a human father in the gestation process, at least."

Not that they had ever discussed this. The closest thing that could be compared was a conversation they had once had during Rose's pregnancy, sitting on the beach at twilight.

…

"Do you remember our gemlings, my dear Pearl?" Rose asked. Pearl flinched at the mention and turned to her quickly.

"Ah – yes, of course. But why are you...?"

They had agreed to move on. They'd promised not to speak of it again.

"It's funny," Rose sighed, moving her hand to rest upon her stomach. She had only just started to show, but to Pearl is stuck out as plainly as an expiration date – as if the impending knowledge that their time was running short was torture enough, now there was a physical reminder. Pearl tried to avoid looking when she could, but somehow she felt that right now it was what Rose wanted her to focus on. "I remember it so clearly. You had so much to adjust to, and I had to sit by idly and watch with no way of helping you along the way. Looking at how things are now, it almost feels like a role-reversal."

There was a smile on her face that made Pearl's eyes prick, threatening tears. She looked away, staring out at the ocean instead.

"What I had to endure – that's nothing compared to this. You know that."

"That's not true," Rose said quickly, moving her hand to rest atop of Pearl's. "While it's true that our circumstances are different, we've both been in this situation. Carrying our children, carrying our hopes and dreams for them too, and not knowing what the future holds – we have both been here. Now, we know what it's like to be on both sides of that feeling."

"My life was never at stake, Rose," Pearl said, and her voice came out so harshly that she could hardly believe it herself. She clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears, and Rose instinctively pulled her in closer. Feeling the curve of Rose's stomach dig into her side only made her cry harder.

"And yet we still panicked and cried and tiptoed around the subject as though it was," Rose sighed, her voice filled with adoration. "We are so alike in our experiences, you and I."

…

Of course, Pearl definitely couldn't recall that conversation to Steven.


	3. Chapter 2: Headache, Gemache

Prolusion

Chapter 2: Headache, Gemache

"Would I ever be able to carry geodes, since I'm a boy?"

Pearl paused to consider this.

"Um... I don't know. I don't think your biological sex has anything to do with the probability of you manifesting geodes, but since you're half-human we don't know if your gem would react to other gems in the same way, or if your gem has the same capacities as ours." She reached over to put a hand to his hair, running her fingers over the tight curls. "At your age, creating geodes shouldn't be on your agenda anyway, Steven."

He laughed and wriggled away from her hand. "I know that, I'm just asking."

Part of Pearl had hoped that Steven would have become bored by this point, or tired out enough for her to continue telling this story another time, but his attention was captured. It made sense, she supposed – they were always finding excuses to avoid talking about Rose so the fact that she was telling him a story about their time together in such a vivid fashion probably felt to him like a whole other side of the gems and their lives. It probably fascinated him, and a tale of his mother was something he probably wanted to treasure.

She remembered the day he had come home with that video tape from Rose. She had seen the way his eyes twinkled like stars, how he had rushed over to them, still in his pyjamas (she remembered trying to scold him before jumping into another debate with Garnet about why they needed to keep watching him at night, but he had been too starstruck to take her lamenting with a heavy heart). He had given them that tape and asked them to watch it. Pearl could still remember the look of wonder on Rose's face in the video, how time appeared to stop, how she had begged to watch it over even after Garnet declared that it belonged to Steven.

He clearly wanted every scrap of information about his mother's life that he could get, so she supposed it was her duty to give it to him.

Currently they were trailing down to the kitchen to make Steven hot chocolate, and she noticed with a warm feeling inside that Steven was holding onto the ends of her sash, as though willing her not to stray too far.

"So you and Mom had no idea what you'd done?" Steven asked with a slight grin. "It seems kind of obvious, Pearl."

She tapped him on the head lightly, earning a giggle in response, and pursed her lips.

"In retrospect I suppose it was kind of obvious. But you see, geode formation in gems was so rare. Homeworld wasn't exactly the most... emotionally invested place," she said tactfully, carefully skirting around the subject. She filled the teapot with water and set it to boil. "Gems didn't function as we do. They weren't in families, a lot of gems saw serving higher entities as more important than their own emotional health, and so it was rare that gems would grow so close that they could form geodes with one another. To myself, it was a concept I knew scarcely anything about, and even your mother, with all her connections, had never personally known a gem who had carried."

"Really? How did you even know, then?" Steven asked, setting aside his mug with the pop art Cookie Cat design on the side. "If neither of you had any idea what it was like, how did you find out you were carrying geodes?"

"Well, Steven... like human gestation, gem formation comes with its own set of ailments," Pearl began, shuddering a little at the memory. "Symptoms, I suppose. If I hadn't shown any signs of my gem harbouring geodes Garnet probably wouldn't have figured it out, and we would have been completely unaware of the circumstances until the time came for extraction."

"That'd be bad, huh?" Steven agreed, peering up at her. "So what _were_ the symptoms, anyway?"

…

"Ugh," groaned Pearl for the dozenth time, perching on the edge of the warp pad and resting her head in her hands. Amethyst, who had been scouring the beach for sea glass, bounded up to her.

"What's wrong, Pearl? Has more junk gone missing from your room again? I keep telling you, if you didn't have so many waterfalls it wouldn't always be falling into _my_ -"

"It's not that," Pearl interrupted, wincing. "It's my gem, I think... I keep getting these headaches."

"Is your gem cracked?"

"No, I've checked at least ten times."

"Hmm." Amethyst flopped down beside her. "Well, take my advice, P, if your gem is starting to hurt it might be because you keep all your junk in _there_ instead of doing what I do and depositing it in your room – you know, since putting things in there is like, the sole purpose of having our rooms in the temple?"

"...Maybe," came Pearl's deflated reply. Amethyst leaned closer.

"Wow, no snarky comeback? You must really not be doing so hot."

"You could say that, I guess."

They stayed silent for a few moments, before Amethyst clapped Pearl roughly on the back.

"Hang in there, Pearl. You'll get better."

"Thank you for having faith in me," Pearl said dryly, reaching over to shove her lightly back. "Do you know if we're going on a mission today?"

"I don't think so. Rose and Garnet are still looking at the amulet. Have _you_ looked over it yet?"

"Not yet," Pearl replied ruefully. She'd tried to take a look at it earlier, but her gem had been hurting at irregular intervals for the past few days and truthfully she was afraid of making a false assumption about the nature of the gem artefact. The pain in her gem had been causing her pretty embarrassing mistakes these past few days (she was certain Amethyst was still silently laughing at the fact that yesterday she'd mistaken Amethyst's door for hers and gotten frustrated when it refused to open for her). Not to mention the tiredness. It was unusual for her to feel so fatigued, but maybe it was because of the fusion? Normally she'd have healed up by now (Rose was fine, but then again, Rose had always been fine after fusion).

"Wow, I figured you'd be all over it," Amethyst smirked. "Not losing your touch are you, P?"

"Absolutely not," Pearl countered, rising to her feet. Her gem pulsed again and she wobbled, reaching out and using the top of Amethyst's head for support.

"Pearl. Are you sure you're okay?" Amethyst squinted at her. "You seem like you're bugging out like, more than usual."

"I'm fine, Amethyst, honestly," Pearl countered sharply, a note of irritation in her voice. "I just lost balance for a moment, that's all."

"Yeah, well, you're acting weird. Better smarten up or Rose and Garnet are gonna notice."

"I know that," Pearl said shortly. "I'm – I'm going back to my room."

Amethyst guffawed at the mention. "Yeah, okay, just don't try and open my door this time, got it?"

With a groan, Pearl stood upright and retreated to her room, her head still pounding.

…

The whistling of the kettle dragged Pearl from her thoughts.

"So you didn't say anything to them?" Steven asked, reaching over to grab the kettle. She gently moved his hand away and poured the water herself. "Why not?"

"Well, I really didn't think it was anything to worry about," Pearl confessed, silently wondering the same thing. It would have saved a lot of trouble later on. "I genuinely thought the headaches were from my gem reaching maximum capacity. I would have cleared it out, but I had to generate more storage space in my room beforehand and truthfully, it slipped my mind." Her cheeks were tinted a pale blue. "Fatigue was another symptom... I was so tired I completely forgot what I was doing."

"That's so unlike you," Steven remarked, opening the fridge door to grab the milk. "Did you try to hide that too?"

"Yes," she admitted, a little embarrassed. "I didn't want anybody to worry about it. I honestly thought it would go away..."

As she began to pour the milk in, she felt his hand grab her sash again. "Promise me you won't hide things like that from me, Pearl?"

He stared at her and she saw Rose's eyes from that day, peering over her.

" _My poor Pearl..."_

"I promise," she said, offering him a smile.

…

"Pearl?"

She jerked awake, realising with a jolt that she was lying on one of her higher fountains. Immediately humiliation hit. Had she been _sleeping_? Surely she wasn't _that_ tired?

"Y-Yes?" she called back, hastily changing into dry clothes. Her gem ached with the effort and she suppressed a groan.

"Are you okay in there?" Rose's voice was muffled behind the door. "I called your name three times already."

"Yes, I-I'm fine! I just – I was lost in thought," Pearl uttered quickly, leaving her room without having achieved much of anything. "What is it?"

"We're warping out again. We think another gem monster might be responsible for breaking the locket," Rose explained. Garnet and Amethyst were already stood on the warp pad. "What were you doing in there?"

"It's not important," Pearl dismissed. As she stepped onto the warp pad Rose and Garnet exchanged glances but said nothing, before the warp pad activated.

The island had hardly changed in the four days since they'd last visited, the breeze as gentle as it had been back then, the smell of salt air different from the beach surrounding the temple but still just as strong. The ocean was calm and the trees swayed quietly, as though not wanting to disturb the gems during their stay.

"It seems normal enough," Pearl said, turning to the others quizzically. "What gives you the impression a gem was the cause of the other breaking free?"

"It was... a feeling. I could hear that gem's song lingering on the locket. It was definitely a different presence to that of the onyx who broke free. I can't tell if the gem was corrupted or not, though." Rose sighed. "Actually, I was hoping you had analysed it. Normally you're on top of these things, is something wrong?"

Pearl froze, her eyes flickering over to Amethyst. The smaller gem shrugged, as if to say, 'it wasn't me who gave you away, bud'.

"What? Of course not, I – you seemed so invested in it. I thought it would be best to leave you and Garnet to handle things, Rose." She stared at the ground sheepishly.

"Well, okay," Rose said, accepting Pearl's explanation uncertainly. "We should move. If we manage to track down the other gem and subdue it, we can analyse the both of them and try to determine if there were ever a pair matching the descriptions of these gems working together during the war. And Pearl, please look over both of the gems when we return to the temple. We really needed your input on this," she added gently. Pearl's cheeks flushed in shame.

"Of course," she murmured, bowing her head.

…

"It sounded like Mom was harsh on you," Steven mumbled with a heavy heart. Pearl, who had been following Steven up the steps to his bedroom, stopped in her tracks.

"Of course she wasn't, Steven! It was expected of me to look over gem artefacts we found, I was supposed to analyse in detail and report back. It was my job in the group but I didn't come through. It was my own fault."

"But you said you were forgetful because you hurt your gem," he protested, sitting back on his bed. He cupped his hot chocolate in his hands and stared down at the marshmallows idly floating on top. "That wasn't your fault, it was because of the geodes. And you and Mom made them together."  
"Your mother didn't know that when she said that to me," Pearl promised, perching on the edge of the bed beside him. She had made a cup of tea for herself and also cradled it in her hands. The warmth and the shape reminded her of the triumphant sensation of holding her first geode, and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before continuing. "Please believe me, Steven, if Rose had known about it she wouldn't have even let me come on the mission. She was very protective of all of us. Her expectations of us showed us that she cared."

"Well, okay..." Steven drank from his cup, still frowning, and Pearl chuckled at the face he was making before continuing her story.

…

The Crystal Gems had broken off into two teams – Pearl and Garnet took the forest this time while Amethyst and Rose scoured the shores.

"Do you have any idea where it could be hiding?" Pearl asked Garnet, picking through the foliage with feigned interest. Truthfully, all she could think about was the nagging ache in her gem that had started up again, only mildly uncomfortable but enough so that it was impossible to ignore. She gritted her teeth and continued onwards.

"There are various futures showing the gem creature attacking in the forest," Garnet deadpanned. "And there are two possible futures where it attacks on the shore. Since the forest is more likely, I wanted to see it for myself."

"Why would you bring me along, then?" Pearl grumbled. "We both know Amethyst or Rose would have been a better choice."

She was secretly glad this was Garnet she was venting to, since the other two probably would have beat around the bush with half-hearted 'oh no, Pearl, you're just as strong as the rest of us'. Honestly, the lack of genuine feeling behind those words grouped with Pearl's nagging headache would have been the final straw. Fortunately, Garnet wasted no time.

"I don't care. I wanted to ask why you have been acting strangely these past few days."

"What? No I haven't," Pearl said quickly, examining the ferns in front of her by prodding them with her foot disdainfully.

"Yes you are. Normally you would have already looked over the artefact and given your findings back to us, but you haven't even touched the locket since you and Rose recovered it."

"Like I said," Pearl gabbled, "you two were occupied with trying to heal it. I didn't want to get in the way. Not to mention I was exhausted."

The last statement didn't sit well with her. If she could take it back she would, but Pearl knew Garnet had already heard her.

"Is your gem damaged?" Garnet asked quietly. Pearl shook her head.

"No, of course not! It isn't cracked, or chipped or even scratched. It is perfectly fine, Garnet. I always check before missions." She frowned. "Forget I said that last thing. It was a figure of speech."

"That doesn't make-"

 _Sense_ , was what Garnet was about to say, before the ground crumbled beneath them, sending them tumbling downwards into a cavern as a monstrous snarl ripped through the tranquillity of the island. Pearl and Garnet hit the ground with a thud.

"I'm guessing you were right, Garnet," Pearl uttered, grimacing as a particularly sharp pain tweaked through her gem. "It _did_ attack in the forest."

"Sure did."

It was hideous, a deep brown in colour with a large dark snout and three rows of teeth, pale yellow in colour. Embedded deep within its chest, a topaz stuck out, surrounded by crystal growth that had spread over much of the body of the beast like a fungus.

"Garnet? Pearl?" Rose's voice in the distance alerted the attention of the creature, which leaped upwards, out of the hole and scrambled in the direction of the sound. Garnet and Pearl rose to their feet.

"Come on. We have to catch up to it," Garnet said simply before following the creature out of the cavern. As Pearl was about to do the same, she staggered when her gem pounded again, leaning against the rock face dizzily as she steadied herself. As her eyes focused, a glint caught her eye. Turning to lay her eyes on the source, her eyes widened.

"Pearl!" Garnet urged, and Pearl ripped her gaze away, jumping upwards. With their luck they'd capture the monster and return down there once she revealed her findings to them. No problem. It would all work out.

When her feet hit the forest floor it became apparent how strong the gem monster was. Torn whips belonging to Amethyst lay scattered around, and she was currently attempting to lasso the creature to no avail. Rose had her shield out, which the creature was viciously snapping at in an attempt to crack it. Garnet was positioned atop a tree, gauntlets out, ready to strike. Pearl reached for a spear, her head throbbing with the effort, and threw it towards the eyes, hoping to blind the creature. With a snarl it shook its head, the spear sweeping cleanly past its head and sailing into the distance, hitting a faraway tree with a quiet _thwack_.

"It's a lot more intelligent than the onyx we fought, Pearl," Rose informed her. The creature dodged Garnet's gauntlet easily, as though to prove a point. It broke free of the lasso and shook its head backwards, forcing Amethyst back against a tree with a slight crunch of the bark. She groaned and dropped to the ground, before shakily standing and brushing her knees off.

Pearl's vision was swimming and she blinked, trying to clear her head. The aching of her gem was gradually getting worse and her and Amethyst were nowhere near close to finishing off the offending gem monster.

"Pearl, wake up already," snapped Amethyst, brandishing a whip and hurling it towards the monster. It succeeded in immobilising the creature, sending it crashing to the ground with a snarl. "You've been spacing out all day and we don't have time for this!"

"Sorry, I-" She reached to pull out a spear and the pressure building in her gem made her cry out. Amethyst opened her mouth to say something but dodged as the gem creature reached out and snapped its jaws at her, prompting her to send out another whip. Pearl gritted her teeth and pulled out a spear, letting out a groan as it finally slipped out. Weakly she threw it, too dizzy to notice where it landed, and relief filled her as the strangled croak of a creature with a tiny spear piercing its windpipe rang in her ears.

"Good one, Pearl," called Rose encouragingly.

Pearl swallowed, trying to steady herself. She screwed her eyes shut for a few moments, counting to ten. When she opened them she expected to have a clearer vision; instead, all she saw was darkness. What was happening to her? She barely registered the way her body temperature spiked as her knees buckled and she fell to the ground, landing heavily on her side.

"Pearl!" Amethyst deflected an attack from the rogue monster, before rushing over to her collapsed team mate. She shook Pearl's shoulder vigorously, panic setting in. "Garnet! Garnet, she isn't responding to me! GARNET!"

"Finish it off," Garnet called towards Rose, who nodded and proceeded to retrieve her sword, brandishing it at the corrupted gem. Within moments Garnet had sprinted from their position to where Pearl lay, unconscious in Amethyst's arms.

"She's burning up and won't wake up when I shake her," Amethyst choked out, on the verge of tears. "Garnet, what'll we do?! Is this what gem corruption looks like? Are we going to lose Pearl?"

Garnet knelt beside Amethyst and took Pearl into her own arms. Her skin was much warmer than average gem temperature, and when she put a hand to Pearl's gem she pulled back sharply; it burned, pulsating beneath her fingers. Instantly, it clicked.

"Pearl was fatigued," she muttered, almost inaudibly. Amethyst leaned closer.

"What is it? Garnet, tell me," she pleaded, frightened.

"Pearl was fatigued," she repeated, louder.

 _She's been disorientated for days, and she's been complaining of headaches, but we didn't notice a thing,_ Sapphire's voice, small and filled with regret, sounded in the back of Garnet's mind.

 _Yeah, but we didn't account for_ this _! It's been millennia since we last saw something like it,_ Ruby's voice, defensive and righteous, boomed somewhere not too far behind.

 _We should have seen this coming._

 _But Pearl shouldn't even be able to-!_

"So you're saying she's just taking a power nap?!" Amethyst exclaimed incredulously. "Garnet, even you have to know this is terrible timing. And that doesn't explain why she's burning up!"

"We have to get her back to the temple. It's not safe for her to be going on missions right now," Garnet declared. _Whether she has that function or not, we need to alert Rose Quartz and bring her back to the temple,_ their voices commanded in unison. _Then we'll decide what to do._

As Garnet was ready to call out for Rose, the corrupted gem evaporated, the entire clearing engulfed in a mushroom cloud of smoke. The gem was quickly contained in a rose bubble and within moments Rose Quartz stumbled over to the group, frantic.

"What happened to you, my Pearl?" she asked, kneeling beside them and feeling Pearl's gem. The intensity of the heat radiating from it caused her to retract her hand, her eyes widening. She looked to Garnet fearfully. "This doesn't look like the usual symptoms of gem corruption. Oh, goodness. What's happening to her, Garnet?"

Garnet cleared her throat.

"I can't say for sure, but I think it's possible she could be carrying a geode."

Rose stared. "...What?"

Garnet turned her attention back to Pearl, who was still unresponsive. "We have to get her fever down. Try healing her. If her symptoms don't fade it's most likely a geode manifesting within her gem."

"Pearl..." Rose cupped the face of her friend, holding it close to her, and felt tears filling her eyes. Silently, she cried onto Pearl's gem, each tear sinking in and glowing. They eased the fever somewhat; the temperature of her physical body was significantly lower, although her gem continued to blaze, pulsating angrily and causing her to whimper faintly.

"It isn't working." Rose sat back, startled. "It isn't working, Garnet. I think she might actually be carrying a geode after all."

"What's a geode?" Amethyst grabbed Pearl's limp hand anxiously, squeezing it. "What does any of this mean, Rose? Garnet?"

"It means we need to get her to the temple. A familiar environment should put her at ease, and the water in her room might cool her down." Garnet stood, heading over to the warp pad while Rose scooped Pearl up and held her close. Amethyst clung to her hand as they warped back to the temple. The tide was only fringing the cave, causing Amethyst to dust off her shoes as they held Pearl up, coaxing her door to open. Rose climbed to a low fountain and lay her body down gently.

"Will somebody explain to me what a geode is, already?!" Amethyst demanded, sitting down beside Pearl. Garnet sealed the door and the three of them crowded Pearl, looking agitated.

"A geode is... an egg, of sorts. Geodes contain small gems that have to be extracted from the gem of the carrier and they eventually form physical bodies, like us," Garnet explained, reaching over to touch Pearl's gem. Now that she was comfortable and in a familiar environment, her gem was beginning to calm.

"So like... geodes are what infants are to humans?" Amethyst asked. Garnet nodded. "But if gems can have gem babies too, why was Pearl hiding it? It's not like we'd get mad."

"I have no idea. Although she might not have realised the symptoms pointed to geode formation, since not many gems do it due to the cold nature of Homeworld."

"Pearls aren't typical gems," Rose Quartz said quietly, stroking the side of Pearl's face gently. "So in theory it should be harder for another gem to accidentally conceive with a pearl. Not to mention pearls were designed for cheap labour on Homeworld, so there aren't any cases prior of pearls birthing geodes. We all assumed that it wasn't possible for pearls to manifest geodes in the first place."

"But it takes at least two gems to conceive a geode," Garnet pointed out. "Who here has been in close contact with Pearl's gem recently?"

The group remained silent for a few moments, before Rose clapped a hand over her mouth, the sudden motion causing Amethyst to flinch and Garnet to fix her gaze on her.

"Back when we were fighting the monster on that island, Pearl and I fused," she said in a hushed voice, eyes widening in realisation. "She said she felt odd once we defused, she seemed a bit off balance, but she's never carried a geode before, you see, so I never considered..." She shut her eyes tightly. "How could I have missed it...?"

"So you're saying that Pearl's carrying baby Pearl-Rose hybrid geodes in her gem?" Amethyst piped up, scrutinising Pearl's gem in admiration. "That's _awesome_. Why are you all so worried? Her gem's not even hot anymore!"

"Because due to my careless mistake Pearl is now harbouring at least one geode in her gem and she wasn't built to carry gemlings with my kind of strength, Amethyst!"

Amethyst shrank back, frightened by Rose's tone of voice. It took barely a moment for Rose to realise her mistake and she reached over to squeeze Amethyst's hand, murmuring an apology.

Rose peered over at Pearl, brow furrowed. "She won't like to hear this, but it takes a strong gem to carry geodes as powerful as mine, and Pearl's physical form might not be strong enough to do that. We just have to pray that her geodes are all pearls, or she will have a hard time extracting them from her gem when the time comes."

In the cavern of her subconscious, Pearl sensed something was amiss. Her gem had never been full to maximum capacity before but she could only assume that was the reason for the cramping in her gem, the headaches and fatigue. It made sense; a gem could hardly function at full potential if it was cluttered with junk. A part of her supposed she _should_ take tips from Amethyst and start to store needless items in her room instead. As soon as she gained consciousness she would clear out all of the novelty items and find a proper place to store them.

The dizziness was beginning to subside, and Pearl found herself beginning to regain consciousness. Faintly, she could hear voices.

"...she will have a hard time extracting them from her gem when the time comes."

"What will happen if she can't?" Amethyst's voice was tinged with fear.

"...I'm not sure. We'll have to see."

"See what...?" Pearl murmured, eyes opening slowly. The blurred shapes were beginning to come into focus, revealing the forms of Garnet, Amethyst and Rose surrounding her. Rose leaned forward immediately, eyes softening.

"My Pearl, how are you feeling?"

"D-Disorientated," she muttered. As she went to sit up, the pounding in her gem made her vision swim, and she clutched her pearl carefully, letting out a hiss of pain. "I think I must have too much stored in my gem. I'll have to remove my sword collection..."

Rose supported her back and gently lowered her again, eyes clouded with pain at seeing her suffering.

"I don't think the swords are the problem, Pearl." She stroked the surface of her gem and Pearl stared up at her, head spinning.

"What is it then...? M-My gem isn't cracked, or damaged, is it? These aren't the typical symptoms of corruption-"

"We don't think it's corruption, Pearl." Garnet gently squeezed her arm. "It's possible that when you fused with Rose the contact created a geode."

"A g-geode?!" Pearl cried, twisting to stare at Rose in horror. "B-But that's not possible! My gem can't-"

"That's what we thought too. But your ailment fits the symptoms of geode formation. And you and Rose fused recently."

"I-I-I can't do this," Pearl said, her voice rising in panic. "Oh my goodness. I can't do this! I know nothing about geodes. What's going to happen to me?!"

Garnet scooted closer, cupping Pearl's face in her hands and forcing her to make eye contact. "While the geodes form, the energy needed will come from your gem. You will continue to experience pain from your gem and you will experience fatigue similar to today. Your body temperature will also continue to fluctuate. It'll take anywhere between a few weeks to six months. And when the time comes, you will have to muster the energy to extract the geodes from within your gem. It'll be tough for a gem of your physical make up to produce strong geodes, but we will do anything within our power to ease the burden you carry."

Pearl stared at her reflection in Garnet's visor, stunned. Her complexion was awful; her skin had always been startlingly pale, but in this moment it was pasty and sunken. Her hair hung limply, matted and dull. Her gem was the only part of her that seemed in decent shape – and even then, the colour of it was off, pulsing brightly at odd intervals (coupled with a shooting pain that made her ache all over) and appearing almost cloudy the next.

"I don't know what to do," she murmured, and Rose squeezed her hand.

"We'll get through this together, my Pearl. I promise."

…

Steven's eyes couldn't grow any wider. He leaned closer, his gaze intense.

"That was exciting," he whispered, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Maybe when I tell it like that. But you have to understand, it wasn't quite as cinematic at the time. In fact, it was really quite terrifying."

He scooted closer to her, his eyes sparkling. "Garnet was so cool though! She knew exactly what to do!"

"Not exactly. She just acted upon her instincts to move me to a safe place. I owe that to her, I suppose. It wouldn't have hurt me badly to stay out there, but it probably would have taken longer for me to regain consciousness if my fever was still up." Pearl sighed. "Even then I was causing trouble for everyone else. Even if they told me it wasn't my fault I'd ended up in this predicament I still believed it was. But your mother felt equally as responsible."

"She did?" Steven asked. "Why?"

…

"I didn't consider this was something that could happen," Rose confessed, running her fingers through her mane of curls, downright upset. "I mean... back on Homeworld they had tests for gems they labelled as 'defective'. It would have been on her file if Pearl was capable of gem reproduction. It wasn't. I would know, I went over it many times during the construction of the Kindergarten."

Rose rarely ran her mouth when she was stressed – but this was hardly a situation she had anticipated. Garnet put a hand on Rose's shoulder and squeezed firmly.

"Gem reproduction occurs when two gems feel equally strong affections during a moment of intimacy," Garnet stated quietly. "Maybe the reason Homeworld found gems like Pearl incapable of reproduction... was because they found it impossible to believe gems like Pearl could ever be loved at all."

Tears sprung to Rose's eyes.

"That's awful..." she whispered. She buried her face in her hands, blinking back tears that threatened to fall. "You mean to say that the feelings felt by both gems during geode formation... they have to be equal?"

"That's right," Garnet responded coolly. Rose stood up abruptly.

"I have to talk to Pearl," she said, before leaving the confines of her room and heading to the north-east of the temple.

Pearl was sitting alone in her room, taking time to absorb the information the gems had dropped on her. Her reflection was still awful, her gem dirty one moment and too luminous the next. The cramping wasn't nearly as severe now, and the fatigue was still there, but she found herself restless all the same. When her eyes began to blur from staring at her gem for an extended period she raked her fingers through the water, stirring up the reflection until it was hardly recognisable as hers anymore.

As the pattering of feet on water sounded from the bottom fountains she glanced down. Rose was trying to gracefully make her way across the fountains, although she had never been as sufficient at moving through Pearl's room as the others. When she made eye contact with Pearl, she smiled.

"Hello there, Pearl," she uttered, before her foot sank through the fountain she was standing in. "Oops. I'm not too good at this... come to me instead?"

Pearl obliged, emerging from the inner walls of the taller fountain moments later. Her hands were covering her gem consciously.

"What's wrong, Pearl?" Rose asked, voice laced with concern. She reached for Pearl's hands and Pearl instinctively took a step back.

"N-Nothing! I mean, the pain is still there, but it's more of a trivial annoyance," she tried to assure Rose. "It's just... my gem is – it's rather unsightly right now."

Rose shook her head softly. "You don't have to hide it from me. It honestly doesn't bother me, Pearl."

As Pearl's hands fell away slowly, Rose's expression grew serious. "Pearl, we need to talk."

"W-We do?" Dread filled her.

"We do," Rose confirmed, placing her hands gently on Pearl's shoulders. "I... do you remember how the emotional states of gems affect the likelihood of geode formation?"

"Yes...?" Pearl responded hesitantly. Her brow furrowed. "Rose, what does this have to do with-"

"It's my fault. Your condition, I mean," Rose said hurriedly. "I'm sorry, Pearl. I shouldn't have suggested we fuse. It was overstepping boundaries, and-"

"But we had no choice!" Pearl argued. "This isn't your fault, Rose! You had no idea my gem was even capable of geode formation! And we _had_ to fuse, it wasn't like it was..." She stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening. "Rose, y-y-you don't think I would-?"

Rose took Pearl into her arms quickly, and Pearl sank weakly into the embrace. "No, no, of course I don't think you did this intentionally, Pearl. I'm sorry if... if I insinuated that. I just think we have to be careful from now on. Do you understand?"

Of course Pearl understood. She understood from the moment she'd woken up in that room and been informed of the geodes growing inside her gem. She'd spent hours just going over it in solitude, calculating what it could mean, what she would do, what she could never do after this. Apparently, fusing was off the table now, too. She missed being Morganite already.

"I do," she mumbled, closing her eyes.

…

"What did she mean, 'be more careful'? What did she mean by that, Pearl?" Steven enquired. Pearl hesitated.

How did she even begin to explain what Rose meant by that – meant about any of the things she had told Steven? He was hardly ready to hear about the nature of their relationship, even if Steven was the last gem – or human for that matter – who would judge her for something like this. Somehow, if he knew... well, Pearl didn't want to shatter the image Steven had built of his mother inside his mind with a tale of something that had happened such a long time ago. She'd try and leave the romantic details out of the story from now on.

"Oh, nothing, Steven," she said softly, raising her own teacup to her lips.


	4. Chapter 3: Formation

_A/N: This chapter is like 50% filler 40% plot and only 10% steven sorry guys. Also VOMIT WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER, try and skim over it if that bothers you! I tried not to write it in too much detail!_

* * *

"Geodes were probably tough to keep in your gem, huh, Pearl?" Steven asked, draining the last of his hot chocolate and wiping his mouth. Somewhere in their conversation it had started to rain, streaking the window beside Steven's bed and casting strange shadows.

"They certainly were," Pearl agreed. "Picture holding three large eggs that get unbearably hot at inconsistent intervals inside of your gem for a few months."

Steven couldn't even begin to imagine. He shuddered. "That sounds painful."

"Grouped with the fatigue and heat fluxes, it definitely wasn't the nicest experience."

"Did Mom panic like you did?" Steven asked, brow furrowed. "Dad said that when he found out Mom was going to have me he worried about her all the time, so it was probably the same for her, right?"

Pearl smiled wanly, glancing at the rain outside. "I suppose you could say that."

…

The first stage of geode formation was taking its toll on Pearl, as the others had predicted. To prevent a repeat of the previous mission, she had been confined to the temple, and spent most of the days chatting idly to whichever gem was watching over her or sleeping off the headaches that plagued her constantly. That day was just one day of many in this stage, spent without much else besides lounging around in the various fountains in her room and wondering when she'd be able to rid her gem of the geodes causing her so much pain and fatigue. However, it was more eventful than most in this stage of formation.

The rush of water brought her back.

"Earth to Pearl?"

Pearl groaned as she distantly heard Rose's anguished, "Amethyst, leave her be!"

Slowly, Pearl opened her eyes, squinting as Amethyst's face blurred in and out of focus. Carefully Rose helped her to sit up, leaning her body against her.

"I can't. Garnet told me we have to give her food."

"Food?!" Pearl's face contorted in disgust. "That's not happening."

"Uh, sure it is, Garnet said so." Amethyst grinned at her sour expression. "What? You're cooking geodes in there, Pearl! Gotta give them some nutrition!"

"I thought all the energy geodes need comes directly from the gem," Pearl pointed out, but Rose reluctantly stood, pulling Pearl up with her.

"I hate to say it, Pearl, but if you're this weak right now eating might help," she said, supporting Pearl under her arms. "If not the geode, it will give _you_ more energy to function."

"I'm not _weak_ , I can-" Her words caught in her throat as her gem started throb, jostled by the movement. She clutched her head and let out a whimper, staggering back against Rose. "Augh..."

"Geode formation is strenuous on our gems, Pearl," Rose insisted firmly. "Eating will help. I know you don't like it, but you need to get your strength up."

"But-"

"That's an order." Rose's voice softened. "Please? For me?"

Reluctantly she lowered her head affirmatively, and Rose placed a quick kiss on the side of her face before ushering her towards Garnet's room. She hated to use such an authoritative voice on Pearl since she was normally very compliant, but the smaller gem was known for her strong dislike of consuming human food and in this instance it was vital that she found a source of nutrients for the sake of the manifesting geodes.

When they entered Garnet's room they found her laying out various fruits she had picked up on a desk-like surface, no doubt from the island they had been on during the last mission.

"Even if it's only a little, consuming these will replenish some energy for your physical construct," Garnet said simply. Pearl swallowed. Just looking at them made her feel ill.

"Do I _really_ have to do this?" she pleaded, glancing between the gems for signs of mercy. Amethyst sat down at the makeshift table and began to peel a banana.

"Yes, you do," Rose said firmly. "Come on, Pearl, please. It won't be so bad."

"We're doing this because we care about your well being and the possibility of producing fully functional geodes," Garnet stated, handing her a banana. "It's important."

"...Fine, okay," Pearl said reluctantly, sitting down slowly. She watched Amethyst eat and tried to replicate the motions, gagging a few times before swallowing painfully. She shuddered as the banana settled in her stomach.

"Now was that so bad?" Amethyst teased.

" _Yes_ ," Pearl grumbled, feeling nauseous. She clapped a hand to her head as a sharp pain twinged through her gem. "Ow..."

"Just try to eat some more, I promise you'll feel better," Rose said gently, patting the top of her head lightly. She turned to Garnet. "I looked over the gem we found, but something is strange about it."

"How do you mean?" Garnet asked.

"Well, the gem was a topaz, right? Topaz gems were usually used as smugglers for gem artifacts, which explains why we found the presence on the chain of the onyx. What I don't understand is what the topaz was doing on _that_ island. _We_ were the side using smugglers to recover artifacts from the Homeworld troops, so who was that gem and why was she _there_?"

"She could have gone rogue," Garnet pointed out. "It's not like gems haven't before."

"Well, maybe... but what would she be doing? Smugglers weren't needed after the war, so if she were working for us or for the Homeworld troops, she would have given up. If she wasn't working for either... well... what else would she be doing? It's not like pawning off gem artifacts to humans would make any difference. What would this gem be needing human money for?"

Pearl sat straighter suddenly, recalling the sight she had seen during the fight against the corrupted topaz. "No, I don't think it was! When I was in the ditch, I saw... lots of chains? There were – were definitely a lot of chains and other scraps of metal that gems could have been forged to. And a whole pile of gems. Some were cracked or broken, I couldn't tell the condition of some-"

"You saw all of this?" Rose knelt down beside her. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was so disorientated," Pearl confessed, cheeks flushing in shame. "My head was all over the place, I wasn't sure if what I saw was even real... and then after the incident when you told me about the geodes I was so shocked it completely slipped my mind. I couldn't even remember it until just now."

She attempted to conjure a visual of the pile, but as she began to project it from her gem she grunted in pain and it abruptly dissolved. "Sorry, I-"

"Don't worry about it," Rose said, squeezing her arm. "We'll put you back to your room once you've eaten and then Garnet and I will head out."

"What about me?" Amethyst cried indignantly. Rose reached over to ruffle her hair.

"My sweet Amethyst, it's your job to watch over Pearl now, until we return. Garnet and I were heading out anyway to recover a gem from a dying mountain, so this will be a quick detour, just to make sure the gem pile is in a stable condition for us to bubble and contain the gems."

"But I can be useful too," Amethyst whined. "All Pearl does is sleep and complain."

"I do not," Pearl shot back. Amethyst responded by shoving another peeled banana into Pearl's mouth.

"Please look out for each other," Rose said with a smile. "I would really appreciate it if you took over watch for me while I'm out, Amethyst."

Amethyst pouted, folding her arms and looking away. "...I guess someone has to do it," she grumbled, and Rose beamed, ignoring Pearl's outraged, "If you don't want to that's fine, I don't need a babysitter anyway!"

"The sooner we head out, the better," Garnet reminded Rose. With a quick nod, Rose turned back to Pearl with a serene smile.

"I'm not leaving until you've eaten the rest of that fruit, so you should probably get a move on, my Pearl."

By the time she had finished she felt uncomfortably full. Her physical form, not used to the prospect of storing copious amounts of food, protruded slightly, much to her embarrassment. Rose, however, seemed delighted.

"I know that was hard for you, but I really do think it will help you regain some of your energy," she beamed. The small peck on her cheek was the only reward for eating that Pearl was willing to accept at this point.

"I hope so," she grumbled. She stood upright by herself, no longer feeling as dizzy as before, and dusted off her legs. "I'm going back to my room then, if I can't be of any help on the mission."

"You'll be back with us in no time, Pearl," Rose said cheerfully, as the others rose to their feet. Rose and Garnet continued on to the warp pad while Pearl selected her room and stepped back inside, casting an anxious glance over to the others.

"Go on, you'll be fine," Rose prompted softly, offering her a reassuring smile. Pearl nodded back uncertainly, before the door shut behind her, sealing her in.

"I'll check on you later," Amethyst's voice rang dimly through the door, and Pearl exhaled before hopping up to a taller fountain to rest.

…

"So you weren't allowed to go out on missions? That sucks," Steven sympathised, showing his disdain openly. Pearl laughed.

"It did. It was for the best, though. If my gem had acted out again in the middle of a mission I could be a real threat to the mission objective. Hindering the team is the last thing I would want to do, and your mother was already insistent that I rest."

"It wasn't until recently that you'd ever slept, though," Steven pointed out, memories of the slumber party resurfacing. He tried to ignore the nagging memory of the dream, and the way that she had her arms clasped around his mother, how her eyes shone. He willed the thought away and focused at the task at hand. "Why did you not know how to sleep if you were constantly sleeping while the geodes were growing?"

"It wasn't a controlled action," Pearl began, fiddling with her hands. "Manifesting geodes wears on a gem, and sleep just... comes naturally. Often I would fall asleep unintentionally, without much warning. Even though the search for Lapis and Jasper left me tired, it wasn't anything like when I was harbouring geodes, and I couldn't seem to figure out how to make myself do it."

"If it was really that tiring for you, I bet Mom was worried about you all the time! Since you were always trying to protect her, and stuff!"

"That's right. Garnet and Amethyst were also keeping watch over me, but your mother in particular... felt obligated to." She closed her eyes, allowing a small smile to cross her face. "It was nice though, I suppose."

…

"What are we thinking, Garnet?"

"Well, Pearl was definitely onto something."

Rose hopped down and examined their surroundings. Pearl had been right. Rings littered the floor, chains had been strewn around protrusions in the walls, and gems remained scattered in a disorganised pile towards the back of the cavern.

"Oh, my," she breathed.

"It looks like a hoarder." Garnet folded her arms, taking in the sight for a few moments. "It looks like a lot of the gems have been badly damaged. Damaged beyond reforming, anyway. We should bubble the gems we can find and fix a time to scan the island for any reformed gems." She took a few steps forward, bubbling a cracked emerald on the floor with a grim expression.

"You mean we can't just do it now?" Rose asked incredulously, joining Garnet in collecting the remaining gems. "If they've reformed they could be causing trouble for the locals."

"Taking care of the Mountain of Decay is the priority," Garnet said simply. "It doesn't have much time left. If that gem takes the remaining life force from that mountain it will only move onto another, and it'll be a lot harder to retrieve."

"But still..." Rose stared at the mound of gems and chains helplessly. There were so many. Who knew how many gems had reformed since they had taken out the topaz gem?

"We should be successful," Garnet said, "if we hurry now. Most futures present a victory in which we manage to salvage the mountain if we go there immediately."

But how many humans will be hurt if we leave now?

She let the question hang, and continued to help bubble the gems in front of them.

"We'll sort it out, I promise," Garnet said quietly, as they made their way back to the warp pad. "We can contain them before they cause any severe damage."

"If you're sure," Rose muttered.

The second half of the mission was simple. Retrieving the gem powering the Mountain of Decay was their top priority, and for that they needed Rose. Although unwilling to leave Pearl unattended for an extended period of time, Rose knew that the sooner they bubbled the gem the easier it would be to salvage what was left of the mountain. If the gem was getting its energy from the minerals in the mountain the easiest way to restore the mountain to its former state would be to shatter the gem – but if there was any chance of healing the gems and Rose allowed one to die needlessly, what kind of leader would that make her? Humanity was a beautiful thing, something that had taught her to value life, and the last thing Rose wanted to do was destroy a gem that could one day live again.

Garnet, on the other hand, was more concerned with dealing with the threat than whether or not the gem was destroyed. Truthfully, she didn't hold much faith in the idea that the corrupted gems could be healed; it was more wishful thinking than anything else.

She would have voiced these concerns aloud, but Rose's mind wasn't engaged in the mission. Her movements were slower, her gaze distant.

"You're thinking about Pearl," she said aloud, and Rose closed her eyes.

"I suppose I am. I feel responsible for her weakened state, Garnet. I know she doesn't blame me but she has every right to. I betrayed her."

"Creating the geode wasn't intentional," Garnet stated, resting a hand on Rose's shoulder. "Pearl knows that."

"But a geode is created when gems both feel a strong emotion towards each other," Rose pointed out, sighing. "I've betrayed her trust. It was me who told her all those years ago that we couldn't be so intimate anymore. I tried to be gentle, but I know it really hurt her. And now, due to my carelessness geodes are forming in her gem and she has hope that things will go back to how they once were. I've completely undone any independence Pearl had."

Garnet shook her head. "You can't say that for certain, Rose. Pearl is a lot stronger than we accredit her for. She may feel obligated to you, but ultimately it is her choice to follow you... whether you love her the way she loves you or not." Garnet squeezed Rose's shoulder. "But I think you already know that."

Rose lowered her head. "I don't mean to lead her on. I just didn't want her to get too attached to me. I mean, back during the rebellion, you remember how often she would put her life on the line for me. I couldn't let that continue – but I guess in my mind she is still my Pearl, even if I was the one who put a stop to things."

A monstrous growl interrupted their conversation and Garnet's hand dropped to her side. Without another word she continued to climb the mountain, and Rose followed suit, pushing the conversation to the back of her mind. The rocks were unstable; some would crumble, while others were slippery to touch and proved as poor grips while climbing. The rotting plant life sprouting from cracks in the mountain was oozing with crystal brain fungi. If the state of decay was this bad already, Rose couldn't anticipate how dead the top of the mountain would prove to be.

"We have to take it out, Rose. Once we bubble it, try to heal the mountain."

Rose opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as she felt a wetness on her hand, shortly followed by a more consistent downpour.

"Nothing like rain to make this climb easier," she laughed, hastily speeding up as the rocks became more difficult to grip on to. Garnet was already at the top, so she gritted her teeth and pushed ahead, arriving at the peak a few moments later. Wiping her grime-covered hands on her dress, she summoned her sword and stood her ground as the corrupted gem approached them, it's speed agonisingly slow, as if purposely drawn out for suspense.

It's body was built of rotting plants, dead grass, crystal brain fungi growing on parts of its body in clusters like patches of fur. It had no mouth, but two gaping holes for eyes, which stared blankly at Garnet and Rose as they summoned their weapons and poised themselves. Its eyes crinkled slightly, as though turning up in an eerie smile. They couldn't even begin to tell where its gem was.

Garnet made the first move, darting across the terrain in the blink of an eye and drawing back her left gauntlet, before surging it forward into the head of the beast. It howled, summoning more dead grass from the surface of the mountain to replace the side of the head it had lost, effectively ducking as Garnet went to swipe at it again.

It was Rose's turn. She charged ahead, sword raised, and neatly decapitated the monster in question, wiping the debris from her sword as the head toppled to the side. For a few seconds the body stood limp, and Rose considered whether the gem had been residing in the head rather than the torso; her thoughts wandered back to Pearl, lying alone in her room, the gem embedded in her forehead pulsing in pain, and briefly worried that Amethyst wouldn't be keeping a proper watch over her like she had promised.

"Rose!"

Garnet's raised voice caused Rose to dodge in time to miss the slew of crystal brain fungi being thrown at her sluggishly, and she shook her head.

"Sorry, Garnet, I-"

"Come on," Garnet urged, "we have to take care of the problem at hand."

Garnet code for _Stop worrying about Pearl, it isn't helping anyone._

"Right." Rose brought her sword out again, instead aiming for the arms. The monster once again cried out in protest as its arms crumbled upon removal, dead grass and mud falling to the ground. It was harder to navigate in the rain, and Rose found her bare feet sinking into the mud wasn't as glorious a sensation as it used to be – the life signs from this mountain were weak and dying, and being unable to feel the life stirring around her put her at great unease.

Garnet swung her gauntlets again, taking out the legs. The creature whined and growled, but Garnet wasted no time in punching three defining holes in the torso. This, it appeared, was the breaking point of the gem, and a small white mushroom cloud of light alerted her to the small gem resting in the chest of the beast, caked in mud. She bubbled it quickly and sent it off, not recognising it as a gem of their own army. Rose appeared dismayed.

"I can barely feel the life of this mountain at all," she despaired. "I don't know if my tears can save such a huge terrain."

Garnet reached out and squeezed her shoulder, and Rose sank to her knees, reaching to run her fingers through mud, through dead grass, through fungi and brittle leaves and crumbling rocks.

"I'm sorry," she uttered, tears filling her eyes. "If we had reached you sooner..."

As the first two tears dripped into the surface, there was a definite change; the grass began to green again, the fungi began to shrivel.

"A few more should do it," commented Garnet, and Rose nodded, allowing for her eyes to overflow once more. As the mountain began to clean itself and Garnet turned to head back to the warp pad, Rose reached down and summoned two figures of mud and grass, coming up to her thighs. They stood attentively, awaiting orders. She crouched down and placed her hands on their shoulders.

"I need you to watch over this mountain for me, okay?" she asked sweetly. "I can't always be here to make sure it stays healthy and safe, which is why I'm entrusting the two of you with that job. Is that clear?"

They nodded stoically and saluted her as she gave them a small wave in response, following Garnet down the mountain.

"We reek," Garnet muttered as Rose caught up, and she hesitantly brought her arm to her nose.

"Yeesh, we do. I'm guessing that came from the decaying make-up of that monster, huh?" She grinned. "At least Amethyst will still love us no matter what we smell like."

Garnet allowed for a tiny smile to cross her face.

"Yeah."

…

Pearl swayed uneasily, nauseous from the dizziness plaguing her. The food she had consumed earlier had done little else beside sit churning in her stomach, and she knew she had to expel it before there was any hope of her sleeping. Rose and Garnet had gone out on a mission, and while Amethyst was supposed to be keeping watch over her she'd grown tired of it, telling Pearl to holler down the waterfall if she needed anything. Ha. Like she could tell Amethyst how awful the food was making her body feel; Amethyst loved eating the most out of the gems so she would only laugh and tell Pearl to stop making a big deal out of it.

She didn't want to throw up in the temple, though; no, that'd be awful, and if the gems found out about it they'd know she wasn't eating properly. It wasn't _her_ fault human food made her sick.

She willed the nauseating dizziness back long enough to step off the waterfall, leaning against the wall for support. Slowly she edged over to the door and left the temple, holding onto her gem and wondering how much more of this she could take. Unfortunately geodes had a habit of clinging to the inside of a gem until they were ready themselves to be born, so she had no hope of extracting them early and returning to her normal routine.

(Not like she could do that anyway, she noted, mad at herself for even considering such a thing. If she ever did that to Rose... she couldn't risk pushing them even further apart.)

She crept to the edge of the cave, the walls slimy to touch, the sand damp from the tide. If she just threw up in the water the evidence would get washed away, wouldn't it? The others wouldn't have to know.

Gingerly she found a secluded spot on the beach, hidden from view from the temple, and she knelt down, waves of sickness sweeping over her but never amounting to anything. As a particularly strong wave of nausea washed over her Pearl prepared herself to heave but all that came up was a hiccup, gas, a burp. She groaned.

She wasn't sure how long she sat in the cold sand waiting for the heavy nausea in her stomach to spill out, but finally she heaved, and began to vomit. She could only hope that once it was out the queasiness would subside and she'd be able to finally sleep.

Disgusting, nasty stuff. She shuddered and waited until the last of it was out before rising shakily to her feet, hoping that Amethyst hadn't checked in on her yet. Knowing Amethyst, she'd be okay, but there was still a nagging worry that she'd tell Rose about her leaving the temple anyway.

She was about to open her door when the warp sounded.

"Pearl? What are you doing out here?"

Pearl turned to say something, but – oh, heavens. The smell. Her stomach roiled.

"I-" Oh, no, no, no. She leaned back against the temple door to steady herself. Rose and Garnet were looking at her strangely. She couldn't-

"The smell," she choked out, beginning to heave again. They exchanged confused glances, before she coughed up the last of the fruit unsettling her stomach.

"Rose, bubble us," Garnet said sharply, and Rose obliged, stunned.

"If you aren't feeling well you should lie down," Garnet advised. She sounded a little tired. "Why did you leave in the first place? Go on now, rest in your room. We'll clean up and come see you then."

"Okay," muttered Pearl, trembling, face flushed in shame. She entered the temple quickly, and Rose released the bubble.

"What was that?" she murmured, bewildered.

"The bubble was the only way to keep her from vomiting more. In all other futures she expelled even more from her makeshift stomach, and that wouldn't be pretty."

"Yikes." Rose exhaled. "Maybe forcing her to eat wasn't such a good idea after all. She never has been good at holding food down."

"We should still try to feed her," Garnet said firmly, "but it might be easier to only give her small amounts. Less for her to throw up."

"True," Rose sighed. She sniffed her arm again. "We do smell pretty bad, though. It's no wonder we made her ill."

"It _was_ a bit of an overreaction," Garnet said, and the two of them stifled their laughter before departing to wash.

…

...Naturally, though, Pearl spared Steven the more grotesque details.

"Did Mom and Garnet manage to get all of those gems, though?" Steven asked. "It doesn't sound like they searched the island for as long as you guys usually do."

"They were under pressure to save the mountain," Pearl explained. "Normally the search would have been more thorough, but of course, I was unable to help and Rose insisted Amethyst keep watch over me. If they had brought Amethyst along with them, maybe..."

She trailed off, expression downcast. Steven peered at her in confusion.

"Pearl? What is it?"

"N-Nothing! It's nothing," Pearl said quickly, smoothing back her hair distractedly. "Um, where was I, again?"

"The end of the mission that Mom and Garnet went on! What happened after that?"

Remembering the stench and the sickness that followed, Pearl grimaced. "Er... lets skip forward a few days, all right?"

…

"This is where we'll incubate the geodes," Garnet stated, folding her arms. Rose, Pearl and Amethyst stared.

The Crystal Heart was a place they seldom visited – it was delicate, powering the temple and linking to the high risk areas. It was also rich with energy, hot to touch and therefore an ideal environment for geodes to incubate.

"Is this going to be safe?" Rose asked gingerly. "I mean, it's a good source of energy for the geodes once they are extracted, but what if they overheat?"

"Would it be safer to take power from a scarcely used room instead?" Pearl suggested, glancing over at Garnet.

"This _is_ a scarcely used room, and it has more energy than any other part of the temple," Garnet deadpanned. "The geodes will strengthen well in the Crystal Heart. They will be safe."

"But how will we get them in there?" Amethyst asked, puzzled. "In case you haven't noticed, the heart's solid. If we break it the temple will collapse!"

"We don't have to break it." Garnet's voice was firm. "Look." She pointed, and their gazes followed her finger to land on five small grooves deeply embedded in the side of the heart's chamber.

"Are those holes specifically for storing geodes?" Rose asked in bewilderment. Garnet nodded.

"Gems usually don't produce more than five geodes at a time. The Crystal Heart was designed with gem reproduction in mind, only it hasn't been required for thousands of years."

Pearl frowned. "But how do you know so much about this, Garnet? Did you- I mean, did... did Ruby and Sapphire ever-"

"Yes. Ruby and Sapphire have both carried geodes before."

…

"They _had_?!" Steven peered at Pearl, searching her face for answers. Pearl bit her lip, offering him a small smile.

"That's probably something you should talk to Garnet about. It isn't my place to tell you the whole story."

From below, Garnet listened in, a faint smile dusting her features as Rose's stunned face flashed in her mind.

…

"They _have_?!" Rose peered at Garnet, searching her face for answers. "But... they never said anything! When was this?"

"A short time after the First Homeworld War," Garnet murmured, a tiny smile visible on her face.

"That long ago and you didn't mention it to anybody?!" Amethyst exclaimed, incredulous.

Pearl's frown deepened. "So that's how you knew I was..."

"I recognised the signs. They have both carried, so when I realised your body temperature was changing, I knew immediately."

They quietened down for a few moments, before Rose asked quietly, "So what did you – they – do? Did they carry at the same time? I don't think anybody but me had access to the Crystal Heart at that point in the war."

Garnet looked down, a hint of embarrassment on her face. "They didn't carry at the same time... Ruby carried first, and neither her nor Sapphire realised what was happening. Ruby hid it for a while, until Sapphire noticed her pain, but neither understood that it was a geode until it was time to extract it. On some level both assumed it was a form of gem corruption, so they didn't tell you." She paused. "Only one geode was born from Ruby – a tiny sapphire geode – and neither knew what to do with it. It never had enough energy to hold a physical form because they had no idea that it required incubation after being extracted."

Rose's eyes were shining with unshed tears, and she reached to squeeze Garnet's hand. Garnet continued, although looked a little more sheepish than before.

"Thirty years or so passed and the two rarely talked about it again, but after unfusing one time... Sapphire began to feel fatigued, too. It didn't take them long to figure out why, since they had already seen it before. Then, during a mission, they heard Citrine talking about geode formation and she answered some of their questions about what happens afterwards. A few months later, Sapphire extracted three geodes – two rubies and a sapphire." Garnet looked away from Rose. "They panicked. They didn't want to lose these geodes too, so... She slipped into the Crystal Heart while you were gone. But even so, it amounted to nothing. She checked on them a while later and there were no signs of life."

Rose found herself crying. "Why didn't you tell me at the time? I would have done all I could."

"You were under a lot of pressure. More and more of our friends were corrupting, and Blue Diamond was launching preparations for her final battle. Ruby and Sapphire would have created an uproar in the resistance... since it's rare that gems make physical contact so intimately. Learning that Sapphire was carrying would have only slowed things down."

Pearl's fists clenched and she glanced down. "...Do you know why they could never form?"

"No," Garnet said firmly. "My best guess is that both Ruby and Sapphire were too small to bear geodes with enough strength to survive. Together we are strong, but apart... the physical forms are a lot weaker. In the end it was probably for the best, since taking care of gemlings during such hard times would have proved impossible."

The three gathered around Garnet slowly, reaching out tentatively to wrap their arms around her.

"Is that why you fused for good?" Amethyst asked. "Were you lonely?"

Garnet shrugged.

"I suppose I'm the closest thing to a gemling they could ever hope to have. They took comfort in that."

…

"Why can't Garnet make geodes?" Steven questioned. "If she's made up of both Ruby and Sapphire, shouldn't that make it easier?"

"Gems can't fuse while they're manifesting geodes, Steven," Pearl informed him. "From what we know about geode formation, the chemical imbalance would most likely corrupt the geodes, which could be problematic for the host since the infection could spread. It would be unreasonable for Garnet to endure that."

"That's so sad," Steven murmured, and his eyes dimmed. "Poor Garnet."

Pearl pulled Steven into a one-armed hug.

"Garnet may not be able to have Ruby and Sapphire's geodes," she said softly, "but she has the greatest gift of all."

"Gauntlets?" guessed Steven. She chuckled lightly at his answer.

"She has _you_ , Steven."

…

"How are you feeling, my Pearl?" Rose asked quietly. The two were sat in Pearl's room, legs dangling over the edge of a particularly tall fountain. Pearl's head was resting in Rose's lap, the warm solidity of Rose's gem digging ever so slightly into the back of her head. Rose was stroking her hair softly, rubbing her thumb over the coolest part of Pearl's gem.

"Fine, as usual," Pearl murmured in response, at bliss in Rose's arms. "...I apologise, for the other day. After you came back from the mission, I... made quite a scene."

"There's no need. We should have known it would end that way. We'll moderate your food intake from now on, my dear, don't you worry."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence again, and Pearl closed her eyes, focusing on the light sensation of Rose's curls ghosting her back, the way Rose would lean down and peck her cheeks every now and then. It was casual, just like Rose wanted it to be. Pearl could live with that.

"I'm sorry you're in this situation, Pearl."

"Why are you apologising?" Pearl asked without opening her eyes. "We're both responsible for this incident, right?"

"It's still a burden on your gem and body, though. I wish I could lighten that weight, even a little."

Still as selfless as ever. Pearl smiled into Rose's hair.

"I don't mind. It's an honour to carry your geodes, Rose. I'm proud."

"We don't even know yet that there is more than one in there, Pearl. Or that it's a rose quartz geode at all. What if it's a pearl?"

Pearl stayed silent. Rose peered at her, hoping, wondering, before letting the issue go. She'd come around in time, even if it meant waiting until after the first stage of formation.

"Are you worried?"

Rose's voice was solemn, and Pearl tilted her head to glance up at Rose questioningly.

"Worried?"

"About the geodes, I mean." Rose's hand grazed over Pearl's gem, the notion sending warm shivers up Pearl's spine. "After what Garnet told us about Ruby and Sapphire's geodes, I'm worried."

"It's... very unfortunate that they met such a fate," Pearl mumbled, burying her head in Rose's dress. "But that's because they didn't incubate them. Garnet said-"

"No, Ruby's geode-" Rose interrupted, "Ruby's geode wasn't incubated. The ones that Sapphire carried... she stored them in the Crystal Heart, like we're going to. I can't help but wonder..."

Pearl sat up slowly, taking a few moments to steady herself on Rose's shoulder before gracefully rising. Once she had adjusted to standing upright again she found her gem wasn't aching as prominently as before.

"Pearl?" Rose questioned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"I just – I need some fresh air," she gabbled. "I mean, I just – I need a little time."

She left it at that. Whether Rose would still be waiting in her room when she returned, she had no idea. Still, she walked away. She needed to clear her head as best she could, anyway.

"Garnet?"

It was late, and Garnet had been sat outside on one of the temple's large hands, watching the roiling ocean crash against the rocks beneath her. It was a dark evening, the sky a deep blue besides small pink clouds in the distance. She had heard the temple door open but had ignored it until her name was called out. Turning around, she was half-expecting to see Rose standing there, with her dress billowing in the breeze, ambling after more advice on where her relationship with Pearl stood. When she saw Pearl standing there instead, it was surprising. But only slightly.

"Pearl," she acknowledged, turning back to stare at the ocean once more as the smaller gem cautiously moved to sit down beside her.

"Garnet... I have to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

Pearl fidgeted with her hands, unsure of how to word her fears.

"It's just... what happened with Ruby and Sapphire..." She exhaled, closing her eyes in an attempt to clear her mind. What with the near constant fatigue and headaches, it was hard to string coherent thoughts together these days. "I mean... you said their geodes never formed properly because their own forms were too weak."

"That's just a theory," Garnet said gently, watching Pearl with an unreadable expression. "Ruby and Sapphire fused a lot before they realised they were manifesting geodes. Whether that contributed to the geodes being unable to fully form... I don't know the answer."

"Right..." Pearl paused for a few moments. "It's just... what I'm trying to say is, do – do you think, because of the nature of my gem, I might also-"

"No, I don't." Garnet squeezed Pearl's shoulder, and Pearl found herself leaning against Garnet instinctively, shivering. "You aren't Ruby or Sapphire, Pearl. Things could turn out differently for you."

"But there's no knowing that for sure!" Pearl cried. "Ruby and Sapphire – they love each other so much, they fit together so perfectly... if _they_ couldn't manifest functional geodes, what are the chances that geodes of both myself and Rose will even form? We aren't compatible. Even Rose knows that..."

Garnet says nothing for a while, allowing Pearl to lean against her as the waves roll beneath their dangling feet.

"I think what you and Rose have is complicated," she said finally. "But you fit together. I can't see far enough ahead to know for sure how things will turn out, but your bond with Rose is stronger than you think, Pearl."

She smoothed a hand over Pearl's gem, noting the pulsing warmth radiating from the centre, before standing up and offering a hand out for the smaller gem to take.

"Thank you," Pearl murmured, lacing her fingers between Garnet's as the two made their way back to the temple. Her words of gratitude were scarcely heard over the churning sea, but Garnet squeezed her hand back nonetheless.


End file.
